On the night of November 7, 2025, two separate Molotov cocktail blasts targeted religious and educational sites in Bangladesh’s capital, sparking widespread alarm among the Christian community and minority rights advocates.
No injuries were reported in either incident, but the attacks underscored ongoing vulnerabilities for minorities amid a surge in extremist violence under the patronage of the Yunus-led Jamaat-controlled interim government, which captured power in August 2024.
Incident at St. Mary’s Cathedral Church
Around 10:45pm, assailants hurled two cocktails at St. Mary’s Cathedral in the Ramna area. One exploded near the church entrance, while the other landed inside but failed to detonate. The blasts occurred hours before a major inter-church ceremony scheduled for Saturday morning, which was expected to draw 600 guests from across the country.
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Father Albert Rosario, the church’s pastor, described the timing as particularly disruptive and vowed to pursue legal action. Police, including the bomb disposal unit, quickly secured the site and defused the unexploded device. Assistant Commissioner Mazharul Islam of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Division confirmed the details and stated that investigations were underway.
Blast at St. Joseph’s High School
Earlier that night, at approximately 2:30am, a cocktail exploded inside Gate 3 of St. Joseph’s High School in Mohammadpur. The school was without power at the time, and security personnel reported no sightings of the perpetrator.
CCTV footage yielded little due to the darkness, according to Officer-in-Charge Kazi Rafiqul Ahmed of Mohammadpur Police Station. School authorities filed a general diary entry, and police continue to probe the event.
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These attacks follow a similar explosion at Tejgaon Holy Rosario Church on October 8, 2025, which had already raised concerns about escalating threats.
Condemnation and Demands for Action
The Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP), a non-political alliance formed in 1988 to safeguard the rights of Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian minorities, issued a strong condemnation. In a press release, the group linked the Ramna incident to the earlier Tejgaon blast, warning that ignoring such acts could destabilise the nation. It urged authorities to launch thorough probes, prosecute those responsible, and implement robust preventive measures.
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The council highlighted the broader pattern of violence post-August 2024, when student-led protests toppled the Awami League regime. In the initial two weeks, extremists under the common banner of Touhidi Janata targeted Christian sites, including the Church of Bangladesh in Naogaon, Evangelical Holiness Church in Dinajpur, and a credit union booth in Narayanganj, alongside vandalism of homes in Barisal, Khulna, Mymensingh, and Parbatipur. A statue of Mother Mary was also desecrated at Nijpara Mission in Thakurgaon.
Prothom Alo‘s nationwide reporting from August 5 to 20, 2024, documented at least 1,068 minority-owned homes and businesses damaged, plus 22 places of worship attackedโpredominantly in the first 48 hours. Khulna Division saw the most incidents (295), followed by Rangpur (219), Mymensingh (183), Rajshahi (155), Dhaka (78), Barisal (68), Chittagong (45), and Sylhet (25). Hindus bore the brunt, with assaults on residences, shops, and temples involving arson, vandalism, and stone-throwing.
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The uptick in militancy traces back to 1988, when General Ershad’s regime declared Islam the state religion amid pressures from extremists and anti-independence factions, laying the groundwork for armed groups. More recently, banned outfits like Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Islami Chhatra Shibir have infiltrated missionary schools, including Notre Dame College in Dhaka, where students were observed parading with caliphate flags during last year’s quota protests.
Christian students had joined those demonstrations, only to face backlash after the power shift exposed alleged plots by Jamaat-Shibir and BNP involving militants.
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